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dotarray writes "If your parents tell you that playing video games will never get you anywhere, point them in the direction of Lucas Ordoñez. Three years ago, Lucas heard about a competition for racing game fans – the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy. Inspired, Lucas picked up a PlayStation 3 and a copy of Gran Turismo and practiced and practiced and practiced. This week, along with his teammates Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari, Lucas could not stop smiling as he stood on the Le Mans 24 Hours podium after taking second in class."

(Completing any 24 hour sports car race is, for that matter, even if it's 3rd out of 5 in the class.)

But, this was 2nd out of 11 in class, 8 classified as completing in class.

And, it was 9th overall out of 56, with 28 classified as completing. All of the first seven places were taken by the faster LMP1 class (and all of the first five places were taken by the remaining diesel cars).

As much as I hate to do this, because it's not right at all... the NASCAR analogy of the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be running a Sprint Cup race, a Nationwide Series race, and a regional-level actual STOCK race (that is, stock unibodies and stock-derived engines and suspension)... all on the same track (and not an oval), all at once, for 24 hours instead of a certain mileage.

In that analogy, this would be the equivalent of placing 2nd in the Nationwide Series race.

Yeah, but the Top Gear team competed in a local endurance race. Ordoñez and his team competed in Le Mans, one of the most celebrated auto races in history. He competed in an incredibly difficult race against a field of 11 different competing teams. Kudos to him.

After all the Top Gear team came 3rd in class....out of 5 total if I remember correctly.

Spoken like any true fan of top gear. That show is filled with self satisfied pompous a-holes. How exactly would this person's achievement be overshadowed by the likes of a-holes who are paid to review and drive actual cars?

If anything his placement shows that these entitled pricks can't hold a candle to people with true determination and "drive". Sod all. Indeed.

You missed the implied criticism of Top Gear. His whole point is that if that bunch of entitled pricks that can't hold a candle to people with true determination and "drive" can get 3rd in class, merely going one better isn't necessarily fantastic.

Other posters have highlighted why the comparison is perhaps unfair, and even managed to do so without slating a very popular TV entertainment show with a minor bias towards motoring.

You must have missed the episode where Jeremy plays GT4 (I think it was 4) to learn laguna seca... then tries it for real. He couldn't come close to his lap times, and he even says the techniques, while close, on the PS3 don't quite translate to the real world, and in the game you don't get the fear you get on the track. He also mentions how it feels as if the walls are right beside you, and it feels like you are going to smash into one at any point.

Yep works for all games, completing an FPS will allow you to buy an assault rifle, flightsims will now let you print out your commercial pilot once you beat them, RTS's will have a black limo pull out outside your house and suits escort you to the CnC center of your countries military.

Umm... actually some flight sims at one time DID qualify as flight hours for pilots...

Still do actually. The FAA and many others allow use of approved flight training devices to replace some of the hours for flight training.

Of these, X-Plane is about the only commercially available flight sim software that wasn't specifically made for training that's been approved for use with training. Earlier it required a special build of it, but I think the later ones are the same now - you need a special USB unlock key that puts it into "approved' mode though.

Then I bought a simulator and practiced for several days. I haven't wrecked a model airplane since. So YES simulators (videogames) can train you for the real thing, as any soldier can attest. It all started back when ATARI was asked by the army to adapt their "Battlezone" game to army tank training.

Maybe simulators can train you for the real thing, but a case where a video game improved your ability to fly a model airplane does not in any way support your claim, as a model airplane is still just a simulation. So, in short, you merely provided evidence that practice with a simulator can improve your skill with another simulator.

Flying the model airplane is a skill in itself -- adjusting for wind, controls without feedback, etc. Practice in a sim can improve that skill. It doesn't improve his skill at flying a 747, but that wasn't the skill he was looking to improve. He basically played a simulation of a simulation, in order to get better at that one.

Similarly, I could imagine a hunting simulator (probably more complex than Deer Hunter 3000) teaching you to recognize and estimate distance/wind, and help you improve that part of yo

Maybe simulators can train you for the real thing, but a case where a video game improved your ability to fly a model airplane does not in any way support your claim, as a model airplane is still just a simulation. So, in short, you merely provided evidence that practice with a simulator can improve your skill with another simulator.

A model airplane is a real physical object you're manipulating. It's a very real skill and considered a sport by some. It is no less real than shooting a rifle at clay targets. The r/c aircraft simulators can do well but aren't perfect at modeling all the variables. I can also attest to them allowing me to fly for years with 1 hard landing and 1 total crash.

teaching kids that there is nothing unusual or abnormal about deriving entertainment from killing people, so that they lose the natural 'anti-killing' instinct that platoon leaders had to contend with in WWII.

To compensate, you could just follow me around following Hermione around all day, everyday. I've got a nice little love nest in the bushes outside of her house. You keep an eye on where she goes to make sure you don't miss Hogwarts and I'll keep an eye on her to make sure I don't miss a thing...

I'm good and ready for the Zombie Apocalypse, If mutants break out of labs and go on a killing rampage, or surviving a nuclear wasteland.
I'd like to thank Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor, and Fallout 3 for my training.

Considering the differences in power, weight, and aerodynamics of LMP1 and LMP2 cars, you have to separate by class. Finishing second in his class is finishing second; only chance a LMP2 car has of finishing second out of the entire course would be mechanical failures on each LMP1 car.

Commenting on where they finished overall shows a lack of understanding of multi-class races.

Multiple classes of cars race on the same track together, adding a lot of moving speed bumps for the fast cars and strategy for the slower cars. You aren't competing against the faster cars in the slower cars, you're competing against your own class.

Imagine formula 1 and stock cars simultaneously on big oval at Daytona. There's no contest between the classes, but it adds a lot to the experience.

Well, back before LMP2 was neutered, it tended to compete with LMP1 for the overall win in American Le Mans Series races (which pissed Audi off quite a lot, because they'd be the LMP1 winner, which is what matters for championships, but they didn't get the bragging rights for the overall win),

What does having rich parents have to do with being good at a video game, being invited to a racing academy on your performance in the game, and then being drafted by racing teams, and then actually performing well enough to compete in one of the three most prestigious racing events in the world? Since when does buying a TV and a playstation qualify as rich?

Because having money means you can spend all your time on whatever it is you're trying to do without worrying about having something to eat, or heat, etc. It also means you can afford the proper/best equipment to train with.

If you can practice 60+ hours a week you can pretty much do anything.

Then when it comes time to put your skills to use money allows you to have the proper equipment to do it (ie. the cars, mechanics, tires, gas, track time, etc).

Life is about opportunity. Being born into opportunity puts you that many steps ahead of everyone else. If you have rich parents and you can spend your entire day playing video games then of course you are getting more training than someone who has to work 2 jobs and only has 1 hour a night to play. Of course skill and will power are factors as well, but there is a serious advantage to being born into opportunity.

The short version: Opportunity cost. If you're working 9-5, it's very hard to sit down on the console for hours on end to play racing games. It's very hard to take several days a month off to go drive real cars at your local track. If someone else is paying for your track time, meals, and roof, you have a huge edge over the guys who fund their racing budget with a 9-5 job.

I say this as a person who's done it. My first exposure to Infineon raceway was playing Tourist Tro

Sponsorship does make someone into a professional racer*, but for the vast majority of riders the sponsorship money simply offsets the cost of racing; the most of the costs are still paid out of pocket, and the sponsorship will not cover living expenses. Even in the televised leagues, there are a lot of privateers paying out of pocket (e.g. the AMA national motorcycle series is primarily small teams and privateers, even though it's nationally televised.)

Where does it even say he was supported by his parents? In the 2009 article it says he was studying for an MBA and during the week when he wasn't studying he was training. During the weekends he participated in races. Perhaps you're forgetting that he is still young enough that he doesn't/didn't have a full-time job.

Basing my response on the parent poster and grandparent poster's comments. Someone asked why it would be relevant whether or not a driver was funded by his family. I answered. No idea if it's actually the case for this kid.

How do you make a small fortune in auto racing? Start with a large one.

You make a small fortune in auto racing by having sponsors.You should read about "start and park" racing to see what happens at the bottom of the racing food chain.The difference in the payout for the bottom 10~20 racers is almost nothing, whether they race 25 laps or 250.

The implication is that he was discovered because he was good at the game, but I don't think you can take that to mean that he became a good driver because he played it. Games, no matter how realistic the handling, can never match real driving because you don't feel all the g-forces and usually don't have to operate the clutch. Clarkson, already an experienced driver, tried learning a circuit on Gran Turismo and then went to do it in real life in the same car and found that beyond learning the layout of the

""If your parents tell you that playing video games will never get you anywhere, point them in the direction of Lucas OrdoÃ±ez."

Basic math: You can't draw a curve through a single point.

Not to mention that if you don't have the far-side-of-the-bell-curve combination of high eye/hand coordination, fine motors skills, and cognitive abilities (each pretty far over on their own bell curves too), it doesn't matter how many video games you play.

Also, there are physical limits - racing drivers have to be extremely fit, both for weight reasons, and to handle the forces involved in controlling a race car through corners. Simulators expose none of that.

Also, there are physical limits - racing drivers have to be extremely fit, both for weight reasons, and to handle the forces involved in controlling a race car through corners. Simulators expose none of that.

Indeed. When I was in the Navy, I worked on/trained in a variety of high- and low- fidelity simulators. A video screen doesn't even come close.

Actually these realistic driving games are good for in some ways for parents. Because it is cheaper to buy these games and find out whether your kid has a chance than to actually fork out many kilobux or more for a "conventional racing career start" (karting, training, racing, equipment, crashes, etc).If your kid can't even get close to the top racers' game lap times, it's unlikely he/she can beat the real life top racers' lap times either. So the parents can say, "sorry kid, for you it's a hobby and not a

Sure, if you're good in the game, it doesn't mean you'll be good in racing since it takes physical fitness, strength, courage, and also you can't be nearly as heavy as the car;).

BUT if you suck in Grand Turismo even when using a steering wheel controller, though you are good in "real world" driving, you're likely to not be good enough to turn pro (so no point wasting time and resources on that path).

AFAIK the great racers can drive a lot of vehicles well - race cars, normal cars, karts, and virtual cars.

Actually these realistic driving games are good for in some ways for parents. Because it is cheaper to buy these games and find out whether your kid has a chance than to actually fork out many kilobux or more for a "conventional racing career start" (karting, training, racing, equipment, crashes, etc).

Sure. In the same way that buying your kid a microwave pizza and having him reheat it is a cheap and useful way to see if he has a chance at culinary school.In other words - no, it's not useful at all

Good for him but I don't know that I'd pick Gran Turismo as my top choice for a sim. Plenty of stuff on the PC, like anything from Papyrus, iRacing. I think Forza is even better. But good on him, nonetheless.

Except Sony ran a promotion with Nissan, for Gran Turismo players who did exceptionally well to get a spot in a Nissan 350Z GT4 car. Papyrus couldn't offer that, their last game having been NASCAR Racing 2003, iRacing didn't offer that, and Microsoft didn't offer that, either.

So, if you wanted to win a chance to be a real racing driver based purely on your skill, Gran Turismo was the way to go. And, in this case, it paid off for Nissan extremely well - Ordonez was good enough for them to put him in a custom

Good for him but I don't know that I'd pick Gran Turismo as my top choice for a sim. Plenty of stuff on the PC, like anything from Papyrus, iRacing. I think Forza is even better. But good on him, nonetheless.

I'd have to say Forza is a step below GT still, at least in the actual driving department. That might change with 4, but right now I'd have to say GT still has a clear lead in the driving physics department.

I haven't actually tried iRacing, but there have definitely been sims on PC that offer better driving physics than GT (especially some of the Papyrus sims). I still prefer GT for the overall experience, though (yes, even the flawed GT5).

What's interesting about racing is the pool of people able to pursue it as a career is so small that the chances of you getting the most talented natural racers into the sport are astronomically low. With soccer, track, football, baseball, etc., you have a way to work your way up from schools or the streets; if you're truly great at the sport chances are good you'll be found out and put in a position to compete. With racing you have a tiny pool of people connected enough to the sport (frequently through f

Well you can start in karting, AutoX or RallyX and work your way up (if a "talent scout" sees you beating the crap out of the competition - about as likely as a street basketball/soccer player getting picked up, but it has happened), still a lot more expensive than other sports but it isn't impossible for someone who isn't ultra-rich or well-connected to work their way in.

and it doesn't have to be that expensive - sure when you start talking track days it can be - but if you focus more on driving than on goodies in the car.. you can do very well.

Been AutoXing for years and plan on karting in a few years with my son, but you have to approach it like other "sports" there are a lot of people out there to that want to do it and only a select few get the chance to do it for a living.. that doesn't mean give up on the idea - but it does mean you need to treat it as a hobby with

Lucas Ordonez was already well on the way to becoming a racing driver.This guy wasn't a regular gamer. He karted as a kid until he was sixteen, when his family couldn't afford it anymore. Karting is where anyone with any racing aspirations starts before they move up to the junior formulas. Lucas Ordonez just had a delay in his career development and got his FIA racing licenses through a very unorthodox channel - Sony's GT Academy.

Racing success is all about the size of your bankroll and essentially, Sony

It was because of his performance in the videogames that he had a shot to do the real thing. Sure, a lot of guys will practice on the games, but it's quite rare that someone will get a seat without proving themselves in the real world first.

He was already a racing driver with plenty of kart experience until he was sixteen. He already had more seat time in competitive driving than the lower 99% of GT players combined before he every picked up the GT controller.

For those that want to know more about what the 24 Le Mans is, and how it is different from other races around the world, there's a great movie called "Truth in 24" which is available from iTunes for free. I think Audi sponsored it. A good movie, even if you're not a racing fan.